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Saturday, 15 October 2011

Pakistan's interim coach Mohsin Khan has said that at the national team's training camp for the Test series against Sri Lanka, he tried to stress the need for the players to focus on the mental aspects of cricket.

"We have a very talented bunch of players who have performed well in recent times, have steadily improved and become consistent" PakPassion.net quoted Mohsin, as saying.

"The results have been good and the team has gelled very well and look a very useful unit. The training camp held over the last few days in Lahore has gone very well. Whilst working on the usual facets of cricket, batting, bowling and fielding, I have also tried to emphasise the need for the boys to focus on the mental aspects of cricket," he added.

Mohsin stressed on the importance of mental toughness in the game, saying that it is the key and sometimes the difference between winning and losing in a tight match situations.

"Look at the great Australian teams of yesteryear, they had a never say die attitude and that meant that they never gave the opposition an inch and managed to time and again grab victory from the jaws of defeat. They were mentally so strong and this is something that I have been speaking in detail about to the Pakistan squad at the camp. You can be the best bowler, batsman or fielder, but if you are not mentally strong then you will rarely succeed at the top level of cricket," he explained.

Mohsin gave the examples of promising Pakistan batsmen, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, as two young cricketers who could benefit from working on the mental side of their game.

"I look at Azhar (Ali) and Asad (Shafiq) as two very talented young batsmen. They are excellent cricketers who can serve Pakistan well. With a greater emphasis on mental toughness these boys can become even more accomplished and tougher opponents for the bowlers they come up against," he stated.

The Pakistan versus Sri Lanka series commences on October18, with the first Test match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. (ANI)